Three new arrests over deadly Mali hotel siege

BAMAKO, Mali – Security forces in Mali have arrested three more suspects over a deadly siege at a hotel in the center of the country, a security official said Thursday, August 13.

“Three new arrests… were made by our services overnight in the Mopti region,” the source told Agence France-Presse from San, more than 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of the central town of Sevare where the assault took place.

The government has already reported the arrest of 7 people over the raid in Sevare that led to a hostage drama for almost 24 hours before Malian troops finally stormed the Byblos hotel.

Four foreign employees of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) were killed, along with a Malian civilian driver, 4 “terrorists” and 4 soldiers, according to the government, which blamed the attack on Islamist militants.

The authorities have not said how many jihadists are believed to have taken part in the attack, but investigators found evidence linking them to a new extremist group called the Macina Liberation Front.

The three new suspects all support Malian radical Islamic preacher Amadou Koufa, the security source said. 

Koufa is close to Souleyman Mohamed Kennen, who claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief phone conversation with Agence France-Presse.

One of the suspects seized overnight was carrying a map of Sevare marked in black at the location of the hotel, the source added.

“The hand of Allah has guided the mujahedeen of Sevare against the enemies of Islam,” Kennen said, adding that Koufa had given his “blessing” to the attack. 

He also claimed that “muhajedeen” fighters were behind the killing of three Malian soldiers on Monday, August 10, in the Mopti region near Sevare.

In 2012, Kennen was part of the Malian wing of fighters led by notorious Algerian jihadist chief, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a founder member of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), who now heads his own group. 

Northern Mali was then under the control of jihadist movements linked to Al-Qaeda and ethnic Tuareg rebel forces. The main towns in the desert territory were recaptured from the extremists with the help of French and African Union troops in 2013.– Rappler.com